Abbott yanks diet-drug Meridia from US market

ValBrickates Kennedy

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Abbott Laboratories
ABT, +1.08%
said that it is pulling its diet-drug Meridia from the U.S. market at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The announcement came shortly after Canadian regulators said the product was being yanked from the Canadian market over heightened concerns that it can trigger serious cardiovascular events in patients with underlying cardiovascular disease. E.U. regulators suspended sales of Meridia, also known as sibutramine, in January. The decisions come in the wake of the release of data from a study of the medication, which is used to help obese patients lose weight.

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